Friday, January 13, 2012

A Clothing Rant and the First FO of 2012

First the rant, for my birthday back in October, I received an Aventura cardigan. It is a whole two and one half months later and the cardi is literally falling apart at the seams!! I wear it about once a week, so maybe I've worn it six or seven times since I received it. Honestly, I've heard about such things happening, but I have never had an item of clothing actually self destruct this quickly. This cardi retails for around $80, which is not an insignificant amount of money. I might expect this from a Target sweater, but not from a company whose motto is "Aventura -- helping the earth one garmet at a time." How is making crap helping the earth? This is not even good enough to recycle at the consignment store. I will most likely try to mend it, but I think the gazillion other cardis like this one are making a beeline for the landfill. What a waste.

I know wise shoppers check clothing for quality before buying, but honestly to look at this sweater when it was brand new, it really was lovely. It's in a price range that I would think would offer at least moderate standards of workmanship, although I do know crap comes in every price range. The friend who gave me this sweater is the boutque owner. Do I tell her so she can inform her vendor of the shoddy workmanship? Do I return it? Neither of these options appeal to me. I think I will most likely keep it, thankful for the generous friend who knew I would love both the cut and color of this sweater. One thing I know for sure is that I will never buy anything from this company.

For better quality knitwear, I finished my first knitted sweater of the year, Zephyr, and learned a couple of new techniques along the way including Judy's magic cast on and how to knit a contiguous sleeve. The best part is that I'm very happy with my new cardi. The yarn in incredibly soft and luxurious(44merino, 44alpaca, 12nylon), made in France (reasonably sure mill is not a sweat shop, unlike the Made in China cardi above, of which I am not reasonably sure) and I can personally vouch for the workmanship.

Disappointing indeed. I'm not planning on doing any shopping until the spring. This experience has strenghened my resolve to not shop -- I guess that's a positive take away from this. I am considering telling my friend; I think she'd want to know.

I agree with Adrienne - definitely let your friend know! The only way that companies like this will ever learn to do a better job is if we REFUSE to buy from them until they make nicer items. Of course, if I could make sweaters the way you did, I'd probably never buy one!warmest regards,Vivienne

Knowing their shoddy workmanship, I will certainly not buy anything from this company. As a knitter, I appreciate the quality fibers available in the yarn market, but it's too tedious to knit a fine gauge sweater so I will be on the lookout for a source for good quality thin knitwear. I think I'll let my friend know. Thanks so much for stopping by.

thank you for your lovely comment this morning and i think i'd show my friend the sweater. i know i'd want to know if i were selling a product that was this shabby. also, i cannot believe you knit that sweater! omg, the talent! it is absolutley gorgeous. xo janet

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About Me

I've been stumbling along the path of living a simple life for quite some time. This simple blog is a place to store, contemplate and share my thoughts on a number of subjects including, but not limited to, knitting, frugal living, quality of life, cooking, family, personal style, wine and so much more.